Mining machine with drive construction for operating elements of the mining machine



f/vv lvroe; WILUAM E MCRACKEN,

March 10, 1970 w. E. MQCRACKEN" MINING MACHIN E WITH DRIVECGNSTRUGTION FOR OPERATING ELEMENTS OF THE MINING MACHINE 511 April 1. 1968 United States Patent US. Cl. 29964 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mining machine with a mining head at the forward end of the machine to mine the material, traction means to propel the mining machine, gathering means to collect the mined material, a conveyor for moving the mined material to the rear of the machine to be discharged, and other power operated elements for the functions of the machine. The mining head is on a boom that is movable upwardly and downwardly about the transverse axis of a pivot support on the machine main frame. Motors mounted on the boom are the primary source of power for the operating elements of the mining machine. Forward drive connections from the motors connect to drive the mining head, and rearward drive connections from the motors connect to drive the traction means, the gathering means, the conveyor and the other power operated elements of the machine.

The instant invention relates to mining machines, and more particularly to an improved drive construction for operating the several elements of the mining machine.

In one form of mining machine, there is a forwardly extending boom which is connected to the machine main frame on a pivot support which supports the boom and permits the boom to be moved upwardly and downwardly about the transverse aXis of the pivot support. The mining head is mounted at the forward end of the boom, which places the mining head at the front of the mining machine. In the operation of this mining machine the boom and mining head may be moved upwardly to the top of the mine face, and the mining head is advanced into the mine face by forward propulsion of the mining machine. Then the boom and mining head may be moved downwardly to traverse the mining head through the mine face to the mine floor. When the mining head is advanced into the mine face and is traversed through the mine face, it cuts and breaks the material out of the mine face.

The mining machine is supported on traction treads by which the machine may be propelled. There is a gathering means for collecting the mined material as the mining head cuts and breaks the material out of the mine face. The gathering means sweeps the mined material into a conveyor which moves the material to the rear of the mining machine to be discharged to a car or other conveyance for taking the mined material away from the mining place. The mining machine has a number of additional operating elements, which are usually hydraulically operated, and are supplied with hydraulic fluid by hydraulic pumps. By way of example, a mining machine of this type is illustrated in the patents to James Kilbourne, Patent No. 3,305,273, Feb. 21, 1967, for Mining Apparatus Supporting and Driving Construction, and

ICC

Patent No. 3,318,638, May 9, 1967, for Mining Machine Having Auxiliary Cutters Driven from Rear of Frame Support.

The primary source of power in the mining machine is several electric motors. These motors are extremely large in order to supply the Very high power requirements for operating the several elements of the mining machine, particularly the mining head. Each motor is supported by suitable electrical circuit components for properly controlling the operation of the motors, and also to meet mine safety requirements for electrical equipment. Therefore, it is advantageous to limit the number of electrical motors in the mining machine to reduce the expense and complexity of the electrical portion of the mining machine system. The endeavor to reduce the number of electrical motors in the mining machine system poses the problem of making satisfactory drive connections from the motors to the several operating elements of the mining machine for which the electrical motors are the primary source of power.

In the mining machine that is constructed according to this invention there are two electrical motors as the primary source of power for the several operating elements of the mining machine. These motors are mounted on the boom and are disposed one at each side of the mining machine. There are forward drive connections from the two motors to drive the mining head at the forward end of the boom. The motors are expressly mounted on the boom to be in fixed position with respect to the mining head, which facilitates the forward drive connections to the mining head.

The other operating elements of the mining machine are on the main frame, and these include the traction treads, the gathering means, the conveyor, and the several hydraulic power devices. Since the boom is cyclically moved upwardly and downwardly on the pivot support on the main frame during the mining operation, the rearward drive connections from the motors extend between relatively movable parts. The rearward drive connections from the motors are constructed in such manner as to deliver the power from the motors to the several operating elements on the main frame of the mining machine, such that it is not necessary to have separate electrical motors for driving the several operating elements that are mounted on thte mining machine main frame.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved drive construction for the several operating elements of the mining machine.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved drive construction in a mining machine in which the power is delivered from a motor on a movable part of the mining machine to operating elements of the mining machine that are disposed on a relatively fixed part of the mining machine.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved mining machine in which the mining head is mounted on the forward end of a boom that is movable upwardly and downwardly, and the primary power source for the operating elements of the mining machine is mounted on the boom, with a forward drive connection to the mining head and a rearward drive connection to operating elements of the mining machine that are mounted on the relatively fixed main frame of the machine.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved drive construction in a mining machine which has a movable boom for the mining head and on which the motor is mounted, and the boom is mounted on a pivot support on the machine main frame, and there is a rearward drive connection from such motor to the several operating elements on the mining machine main frame, with the rearward drive connection extending through the transverse axis of the pivot support and being bisected by the pivot axis.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a mining machine which is constructed in accordance with this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the mining machine illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the mining machine has a main frame 11. Endless crawler traction treads 12, 12 are disposed one at each side of the main frame 11 and support the mining machine 10 on the ground surface or mine floor, and are operative to propel the mining machine 10.

There are two upstanding support members 13, 13 which are fixedly secured to the main frame 11, one at each side of the latter. A transverse pivot 14 is supported by the members 13, 13. The support members 13, 13 and the transverse pivot 14 together form a pivot support 18 for several elements of the mining machine 10, as will be explained hereafter.

A boom 15 is mounted on the pivot support 18 and extends forwardly from the latter, with a mining head 16 on the forward end of the boom 15. The boom 15 is cyclically movable upwardly and downwardly about the transverse axis of the pivot support 18 by hydraulic cylinders 17, 17 connected between the main frame 11 and the boom 15.

A gathering head is also mounted on the pivot support 18 and extends forwardly from the latter to a position at the forward end of the main frame 11 and below the boom 15. The gathering head 20 has an apron or deck 21, the leading edge of which is disposed at the mine floor to receive the mined material which is collected by gathering arms 22, 22 at the opposite sides of the gathering head 20. The gathering arms 22, 22 sweep the mined material into a conveyor 23 which extends longitudinally through the center of the mining machine 10 to the rear end of the latter.

The gathering head 20 is mounted on the pivot support 18 for movement upwardly or downwardly about the transverse axis of the latter by hydraulic cylinders 24, 24 connected between the main frame 11 and the gathering head 20. The gathering head 20 can be lifted by the cylinders 24, 24 to a position that is clear of the mine floor for clearance when the mining machine 10 is moved from one place to another, and also, the gathering head 20 may be moved upwardly or downwardly to place the front end of the apron or deck 21 at the best position on the mine floor for collecting the mined material.

The conveyor 23 has a rear conveyor boom 25 which is mounted on the pivot support 18 for movement upwardly or downwardly about the axis of the latter to position the rear end of the conveyor boom 25 as may be necessary for discharging the mined material from the mining machine 10. Hydraulic cylinders 26, 26 at opposite sides of the conveyor boom 25 are used to raise or lower the latter, as may be desired. The conveyor boom 25 has a tail portion 27 which may be swung laterally to one side or the other by a pair of push-pull hydraulic cylinders 28, 28 that are disposed at opposite sides of the tail portion 27. There is a conveyor pivot section 29 on an upright axis about which the tail portion 27 of the conveyor 23 may be swung to one side or the other to properly locate it for discharging the mined material.

At the rear of the main frame 11 there are stabilizer shoes 30, 30 disposed one at each side, which may be lowered to the mine floor to provide a greater base support for the mining machine 10 during mining operations. Cylinders 31, 31 at opposite sides of the main frame 11 are connected between the main frame 11 and the stabilizer shoes 30, 30 to raise and lower the latter, as may be needed.

The mining machine 10 has a pair of electrical motors 35, 35 which are the primary source of power for the operating elements of the mining machine 10. The motors 35, 35 are mounted on the boom 15 at opposite sides of the latter and are alike, except that they are oppositely mounted on the boom 15. Each motor 35 has a rotating armature shaft 36 which extends forwardly and rearwardly to deliver the power of the motor 35. Transmissions 37, 37 are secured to the forward ends of the motors 35, 35 and are alike, except that they are oppositely disposed to be oriented to the respective motors 35, 35. Each transmission 37 is driven by a motor armature shaft 36. Mining head drive transmissions 38, 38 are disposed at opposite sides of the 'boom 15 and ahead of the motor transmissions 37, 37. At each side of the boom 15 there is a drive connection from transmission 37 to transmission 38 by a drive shaft 39, a universal drive joint 40 that connects the transmission 37 to the drive shaft 39, and another universal joint 41 that connects the drive shaft 39 to the mining head transmission 38. The mining head transmissions 38, 38 transmit the power for the final drive to the mining head 16.

The mining head 16 has a somewhat cylindrical form extending across the forward end of the mining machine 10 an a transverse axis. The mining head 16 is rotated to drive a plurality of radially projecting cutting bits 42, 42 through the material of the mine face to cut and break the material out of the mine face. The mining head 16 is formed with spiral flights 43, 43 which are directed to move the material inwardly toward the longitudinal center line of the mining machine 10 as the material is being cut and broken out of the mine face, and this facilitates the collection of the mined material by the gathering arms 22, 22. There are two cutting chains 44, 44 with a plurality of radially projecting cutting bits 45, 45, and the latter operate in conjunction with the mining head 16 to cut clearance in the mine face for a gear housing that is disposed within the run of each cutting chain 44.

The mining head 16 is the element of the mining machine 10 which has the greatest demand for the power of the motors 35, 35, and may even call for nearly all the power of the motors 35, 35. Therefore, the power of both motors 35, 35 is delivered to the mining head 16 to drive the latter. The motors 35, 35 on the boom 15 are fixed relatively to the motor transmissions 37, 37, the mining head transmissions 38, 38, and the mining head 16, which facilitates the design of these driving elements, as well as the drive shafts 39 and the universal drive joints 40, 41, for the severe service that is experienced in this part of the mining machine 10' to supply the high power demands of the mining head 16.

The other operating elements of the mining machine 10 are supplied with power from the motors 35, 35 off the rearward extensions of the motor armature shafts 36, 36. Main frame drive transmissions 48, 49 are mounted on the main frame 11 at opposite sides of the latter. The transmissions 48, 49 are similar, but not identical. There is a rearward drive connection from the motors 35, 35 to the respective transmissions 48, 49, which in each case includes a universal drive joint 50 secured to a motor shaft 36 and a universal drive joint 51 secured to a shaft 52 of the transmission 48, and to a shaft 53 of the transmission 49. A drive shaft 54 is connected to the universal drive joints 50, 51 and has telescoping shaft sections 54a, 54b to accommodate changes of length of the drive shaft 54.

Each motor 35 and its armature shaft 36 is disposed such that the axis of the latter intersects the transverse axis of the pivot support 18 in all positions of the boom 15. Similarly, each of the transmission shafts 52, 53 is disposed with its axis to intersect the transverse axis of the pivot support 18. In the level or horizontal position of the boom 15, as seen in FIG. 1, the axes of the transmission shafts 52, 53 are coincident with the axes of the respective motor armature shafts 36, 36. The axes of respective motor armature shafts 36, 36. The axes of the drive shafts 54, 54 are also coincident with the axes of the armature shafts 36, 36, and the axes of the respective transmission shafts 52, 53. In this condition there is longitudinal axial alignment of the several shafts by which the motors 35, 35 are connected to the respective main frame transmissions 48, 49. Each drive shaft 54 crosses the transverse axis of the pivot support by the transverse axis of the pivot support 18, and 18, and the length of each drive shaft 54 is bisected the universal joints 50, 51 are equidistantly disposed on opposite sides of the transverse axis of the pivot support 18. When the boom 15 is moved upwardly or downwardly from its level or horizontal position, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the angular disposition of the motors 35, 35 and the drive shafts 54, 54 relatively to the main frame transmissions 48, 49 changes. However, the driving relationship remains the same, since the angle between the axis of each armature shaft 36 and the axis of each drive shaft 54 remains equal to the angle between the axis of each drive shaft 54 and the axes of the respective transmission shafts 52, 53, in all up and down positions of the boom 15. i

The main frame transmission 48 drives a hydraulic pump 58, a double hydraulic pump 59 and a variable volume hydraulic pump 60 to supply hydraulic fluid to hydraulic power elements of the mining. machine 10. Similarly, the main frame transmission 49 drives a double hydraulic pump 61, which also supplies hydraulic fluid to hydraulic power elements of the mining machine 10. There is also a water pump 62 driven from the main frame transmission 48, which may supply cooling water to the motors 35, 35 and spray water for the mining head 16.

The gathering arms 22, 22 and the conveyor 23 are driven through gathering head transmissions 64, 64 at opposite sides of the machine, and these are alike except that they are oppositely oriented. One gathering head transmission 64 drives in the forward or loading direction, and the other gathering head transmission 64 drives in the reverse direction to release jammed material. Drive shafts 65, 65 provide driving connections from the main frame transmissions 48, 49 to the gathering head transmissions 64, 64. Drive shafts 65, 65 are connected to the main frame transmissions 48, 49 by universal drive joints 66, 66, and are connected to gathering head transmissions 64, 64 by universal drive joints 67, 67. In the operation of the mining machine the gathering head 20 is placed on the mine floor and is relatively fixed with respect to the main frame 11, as compared to the boom and the mining head 16, which are cyclically moved upwardly and downwardly during the mining operations in the mine face.

The traction treads 12, 12 may be operated at a high speed or at an intermediate speed for moving the mining machine 10 from place to place, or to properly position the mining machine 10, other than in the course of cutting and breaking the material out of the mine face. There is a traction transmission 70 at one side of the main frame 11, which includes drives for operating the traction treads 12, 12 at high speed, and in forward or reverse directions. Another similar traction transmission 71 is disposed at the opposite side of the main frame 11 and includes drives for operating the traction treads, 12, 12 at an intermediate speed, and in forward or reverse directions. The main frame transmission 48 drives the high speed traction transmission 70, and the main frame transmission 49 drives the intermediate speed traction transmission 71. When operating the traction treads 12, 12 at high speed, power is supplied from the motor 35 at the same side of the machine as the transmissions 48, 70, and for intermediate speed operation of the traction treads 12, 12, power is supplied from the motor 35 at the same side of the machine as the transmissions 49, 71.

The variable volume pump '60 supplies hydraulic fluid to a hydraulic motor 72 which is a secondary power device for driving the traction treads 12, 12 in a low speed range commensurate with the volume of hydraulic fluid supplied by the variable volume hydraulic pump 60. The mining machine 10 is propelled forwardly at low speed to advance the mining head 16 into the mine face preliminary to the traversing operation of the mining head 16 through the mine face.

This mining machine then is operated in all its functions by the electrical motors 35, 35 as the primary power source. The motors 35, 35 are on the boom 15 with the mining head 16, so that the drive connections from the motors 35, 35 are directly to the mining head 16. The rearward drive connections from the motors 35, 35 extend across the transverse axis of the pivot support 18 to the main frame transmissions 48, 49 to drive the operating elements that are on the main frame 11 of the mining machine.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of the invention, what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A mining machine comprising a mining head at the forward end of the mining machine which is adapted to be advanced into the mine face to cut and break material out of the mine face, a main frame for the mining machine, a forwardly directed boom with the mining head being disposed at the forward end of the boom, a transverse pivot support for said boom on said main frame for moving said boom and said mining head upwardly and downwardly about the transverse axis of said pivot support, gathering means for collecting the mined material, conveying means to move the mined material from the gathering means to the rear of the mining machine to be discharged, traction means to propel the mining machine, secondary power devices for supplying power to other operating elements of the mining machine, two motors mounted on said boom and disposed one at each side of the boom, a forward drive connection from each of said motors to drive said mining head, a rearward drive connection from each of said motors to drive said gathering means, said conveying means, said traction means and said secondary power devices, each of said rearward drive connections being disposed laterally outwardly of said pivot support at opposite sides of said mining machine and extending across the transverse axis of the pivot support and being bisected by the axis of the pivot support, and each of said rearward drive connections including an articulated element on each side of the transverse axis of said pivot support.

2. A mining machine as recited in claim 1 in which each of said rearward drive connections comprises a drive shaft with a telescoping section, the axis of said drive shaft intersects the transverse axis of said pivot support, and each articulated element comprises a universal drive joint.

3. A mining machine as recited in claim 1 including a drive transmission mounted on said main frame on each side of said mining machine to transmit power to said gathering means, to said conveying means, to said traction means and to said secondary power devices, each of said rearward drive connections comprises a drive shaft between a motor and a transmission, and said articulated elements comprise a universal drive joint to connect a drive shaft to a motor and a universal drive joint to connect a drive shaft to a transmission.

4. A mining machine as recited in claim 3 in which said motors and said drive transmissions at each side of 7 8 the mining machine are disposed near the transverse axis 2,696,287 12/ 1954 Foust 198-8 of said pivot support, and said universal drive joints 2,986,384 5/1961 Densmore 29959 are equidistant from the transverse axis of said pivot sup- 3,041,054 6/ 1962 Ball 29957 port. 3,109,636 11/1963 Hlinsky 29976 X References Cited 5 ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Us CL XR 1,737,045 11/1929 Davis 299 75 X 299-76 

